Pirmetira
Pirmetira is a phoenix and the last Matriarch of the once great Phoenix Society who currently lives in Chantelune Manor with the last of her kind, Blaine Anderson. It is unclear when she received her title, but it is known that she is about 100,000 years old and is believed to have been in power for at least half of her lifetime. She is remarkably powerful, possibly more so than the residing High Elder of the Dark Fae, Katarina Malori Azalov, though the only way she displays it is through the blue fire flickering across her irises. This tells of the blue fire she wields in battle, a rare feat among her kind. Character Arc Much is unknown about Pirmetira's life, though she has been known by many names across the world, including Pyrmeter by the Ancient Greeks, Ignima by the Ancient Romans, Tinethair by the Celtic races, Huochin by East Asian cultures, and Agmarhi by South Asian cultures. Plammot – The Dark Phoenix : Pirmetira watched over the Phoenix with love and wisdom. It was her idea to escape to the clouds in the early years of their persecution. There she was essential in rebuilding their society and restoring it to glory once again. She helped develop the ability to suspend solid matter on the clouds and the magics to protect the lighter-skinned phoenix against harsher exposure to sunlight. But even she could not condone the use of violence when her kind was discovered and hunted again. : After they suffered several large-scale massacres by the hands of the Fae and Humans alike, a rash young phoenix known as Plammot gave into his darker urges and started striking back. This led to the discovery of a condition that would come to be known as the Dark Phoenix. : Pirmetira tried to reason with him, help him quell his bloodthirst for revenge, but with their kind being slaughtered across the world every day, it was no use. What started as darker urges of vengeance and murder grew to consume his every thought. All traces of love and the desire to cultivate life was gone from him, a complete polar switch. Even though it was against the core philosophies of their people, the Matriarch took it upon herself to execute this foul mutation. Solitude : Afterwards, fearing her actions against Plammot might cause her to descend into the same darkness, she made the painful yet wise decision to return to the clouds and isolate herself. During this time, she advised what was left of her kind to cease as much interaction with the mortal races as possible and let the knowledge of their existence fade into myth. She watched over her children, but kept her distance unless she was absolutely needed. : During this time, Pirmetira led an experiment to speed up the maturation cycle of phoenixes. Prelimary experiments were done on phoenixes who were already fully matured until they figured out how to bring 200 years of aging into 20 years, bringing the scale down to the average rate of the typical fae or human. Once she felt that was perfected, experiments on consenting adolescents were done, going younger and younger until they felt comfortable experimenting on children and infants without significant risk even though they weren't old enough to consent. Eventually Pirmetira perfected the technique and enabled newborn phoenixes to mature in 18-25 years, just like typical fae and humans, enabling them to hide more easily in plain sight among fae and humans alike. : Over the centuries, despite her efforts, Pirmetira saw the rapid decline of her people. Millions became thousands, thousands became hundreds, and hundreds became dozens, until finally there were only twelve left, including herself. WIthout the advice of her society's elders, she often sought the divinations of oracles and other wise creatures on the ground, but she was careful to never reveal her identity. The Prophecy : Ariana Anderson was the child of a marid djinn and a phoenix and had long suffered abuse by her father's hand until she came of age and escaped. When she fell pregnant, she feared her father would come for the child and came to the Matriarch for help. Together, they decided to use magic to transfer the child to a young siren girl named Helen Berry. : A few years after the birth, she consulted the final Oracle at Delphi and received this prophecy: :: "Unto the daughter of demonic and sacred fires, a son shall be born, and in his wake shall be a song of death and devastation. Darkness shall be thrust into his heart, and he shall follow in the steps of his forefather, caroling the doom of the Guardians. They will be sacrificed by blood, and his name shall echo across the world like the scorched earth beneath his footsteps." : Pirmetira instantly connected Ariana's child to the prophecy and pleaded with the young woman to end his life and spare them all. But Ariana refused and hid herself even from the Matriarch's watchful eye. Pirmetira could have easily ended the child herself, but her personal beliefs made that task impossible for anyone but his mother. : Over the years, she tried to keep track of Ariana, but whenever she got close, the woman disappeared again. She hoped Ariana would be successful in raising a child of goodness and light, but she had no idea the kind of abuse and torture that was really going on until almost two centuries later. : In 2013, Ariana came to Pirmetira once again and confessed that her abhorrent efforts failed. Despite being reviled at the woman's actions, the Matriarch agreed, though still neither of them could bring themselves to directly murder the child. Instead they agreed to let Ariana's father, who was now dying and needed her to save him, to grant a wish with his powers as a djinn. :: "I wish for my son to be cleansed of his Darkness." : Despite everything she had already done to her son, Ariana still couldn't explicitly ask for his death. She rationalized it by figuring he'd probably die anyway, given that wishes usually work out in insidious ways. She also knew that no matter what, the wish's power would keep attempting to cleanse Blaine until it succeeded, and that was something neither she nor Pirmetira could guarantee if they were defeated. Blaine Anderson : Pirmetira felt guilt for her decisions, but she comforted herself with the argument that it was a necessary evil. Since Blaine's birth, six phoenixes had lost their lives, and she wasn't prepared to lose any more, even when Ariana killed her protector on a mission to finally do the deed herself (a mission which led to the woman's death). It wasn't until she learned of the events with Dorian Gray that she realized the truth. : Blaine's friend wrote a blood passage to save him. However, the cosmic cost was the lives of three of the five remaining phoenixes which included herself and Blaine. Due to the fear built in her after Plammot and millennia of isolation, watching her children dwindle away, she had overlooked the most important part: "Darkness shall be thrust into his heart." : She had thrust it there. Primetira's fears overwhelmed a frightened young woman and twisted her mind, making her think that violence and abuse were redeemable methods of parenting. She had abided the torture that inevitably forced Blaine to divide his mind between dark and light. She was the reason his darkness had become so strong that it manifested as a fully formed persona and called itself "Darren". She had created the Dark Phoenix she so feared. It was a self-fulfilling prophecy. : With this realization in mind, as well as the newfound knowledge of Blaine being pregnant, Pirmetira left the clouds in hopes that she would be able to pay penance for her sins and cultivate the last chance her species has at avoiding extinction. : Beyond all expectation, Blaine agreed to let her help him even after she confessed her sins, and now she lives with him in what will be the nursery. She serves as a midwife and, through meditation, helps him with his alter-ego.